September 21, 2009

Morning Glories

Morning glories have always been a favorite flower of mine. This year, even though I planted them early enough and they produced spectacular leaves, they didn't bloom. June, July passed, then August. There was no way to rush the blooms, no way to know if the weather would improve (too wet, too dry, too cool) . Then September came, the decisive month, the last chance. Would these sprawling dark-green vines that finally had shown some tiny flower buds bring forth their stunning flowers just as fall made its decisive mark? Taunting the weather gods, the flowers finally made their appearance in the middle of the month.

I never had thought much about the flower's name, though. I knew morning glories bloomed during the daytime, but I didn't know exactly when the one-day blossoms opened--they were usually fully open by the time I'd be out in the garden. So today, putting on my scientist's hat, I decided to track their activities. Before sunrise, around 6 am, with a nip in the air, a few blooms were already open to greet the new day, and gradually, over the next two hours, a couple dozen other stunning blue flowers joined in, reflecting the newly bright blue of today's sky.

Yes, fall is coming,
the dry trees leaves rustle blowing down the alley.
But a late reprieve:
Glorious flower opens in the morning;
morning glory.

1 comment:

Anonymous
said...

Growing up on Long Island NY,Patchogue to be exact, I planted as a boy for my mother at least a 60ft section of fence, of morning glories. They were called Heavenly Blues.Every morning you arose to this wall of blue with a back ground of pine woods.This is when L.I was still country.

Barbara DaCosta—Writer & Author

Barbara DaCosta writes for children and adults alike. Her children's picture book debut is Nighttime Ninja,illustrated by Caldecott Award-winning artist Ed Young (Little, Brown 2012) .Her debut as a mystery writer came with the short story "Cabin 6" in the anthology Resort to Murder, edited by Minnesota Crime Wave. Meanwhile, she's putting the finishing touches on her novel Death by the Depot—the tale of a murder, the search for a missing man, and the uncovering of a nest of crime at a nursing home—features Thea Franco, a hardworking, overly curious, detail-oriented researcher with a stable of quirky clients---divas, dealers, teachers, historians, waitresses, and lawyers. Sometimes, though, Thea finds she’s taken on way more than she can handle….

• By the way, DaCosta rhymes with "the coast-ah," and is spelled DaCosta (i.e., not Da Costa, Dacosta, or DeCosta).• You can reach Barbara at barbaradacostaauthor at gmail dot com (substitute symbols).

• Your patronage of independent bookstores means you'll get diversity of book choices, highly knowledgeable staff, help the environment, and support your local community and local economy. See the American Booksellers Association website for more compelling facts.